Meanings
- uncountableinternational lawDebellation, the annihilation of a sovereign state through complete destruction in a war.
Further, occupation based on debellatio must be distinguished from the situation in which a belligerent conquers the whole territory of an adverse party but meets resistance movements (including those of sporadic nature).
2009, Yutaka Arai-Takahashi, The Law of Occupation, →ISBN, page 382 more examples
According to the International Law doctrine of debellatio (KO’d by war), under which we profess to operate, it is the coalition, through Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III and his administration, that makes the important political and economic decisions for the Iraqis.
2003 February 22, Victor T. Le Vine, “Factions Need Some Autonomy”, in St. Louis Post-DispatchThe invasion of Iraq by the British and U.S.-led Coalition forces in March 2003 silently effected debellatio, the ancient doctrine by which a military victor takes title to territory in which the defeated government has ceased to function.
2006, Melissa Patterson, “Who’s Got the Title: or, The Remnants of Debellatio in Post-Invasion Iraq”, in Harvard International Law Journal, volume 47, number 2, page 467
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latindēbellātiō
- Englishdebellatio
Unadapted borrowing from Latin dēbellātiō.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
debellatio. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/debellatio
“debellatio.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/debellatio. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “debellatio,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/debellatio.
Source: debellatio on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.